Where you Belong: Superintendent Welcome Back Message

I knew at a young age that Adams 12 Five Star Schools was a place where I belonged. That sense of belonging is what has inspired me to be a member of the Five Star community, in one way or another - student, resident, legal adviser and superintendent - for nearly 60 years.

The student experience is at the heart of what we do in the Five Star District. Knowing our students by name, strength and need cultivates academic and social belonging.

Adams 12 Five Star Schools is where our students, staff and families: Grow, Explore, Lead and Achieve.

Where you Grow

Our students and staff feel safe and supported to learn, build confidence and experience academic, social and personal growth. 

Our staff know the foundation to helping students thrive academically and socially is for them to be seen. It’s the regular, small moments of connection that add up to making a big difference; just ask Legacy High School science teacher Ross Doty. In an effort to build a greater connection with students, he started to greet them with a fist bump that evolved into a simultaneous fist bump with an exuberant exchange of “woo-hoo!”

Mr. Doty averages about 1,000 fist bumps and “woo-hoo’s!” a day. He’s made such a meaningful connection with students that the Class of 2026 chose Mr. Doty to deliver the faculty speech at their graduation ceremony.

Where you Explore

In Adams 12 Five Star Schools, our students and staff experience opportunities to explore interests, discover new passions and pursue a future of possibilities.

The Five Star District is bringing hands-on career exploration to middle school, helping students find purpose, relevance and direction earlier in their lives. Thanks to voter support, we’re helping middle school students explore career pathways that can lead to industry certifications, college credit and work-based learning opportunities in high school.

The goal isn’t to ask middle school students to choose a career, but rather to help them discover the breadth and depth of possibilities. The new middle school career and technical education spaces will serve as career exploration labs, where students rotate through flexible learning experiences tied to multiple industries and career pathways.  

Where you Lead

Our students and staff are known, empowered and encouraged to develop their strengths and use their skills to be leaders with purpose.

Across our 50-plus schools, we’re developing leaders. Every other Friday, a group of students from Northglenn Middle School board a school bus on their way to Leroy Elementary. Through the Latinos in Action (LIA) program, these students visit Leroy classrooms to mentor younger learners, helping with reading, writing and literacy skills while modeling leadership, confidence and connection.

Before stepping into classrooms, the middle school students complete extensive training focused on literacy strategies and leadership development. Many of the mentors once attended Leroy themselves, creating meaningful moments as they reconnect with former teachers and inspire younger students who now see what opportunities await them at the next level.

Where you Achieve

In Adams 12 Five Star Schools, students and staff are challenged and celebrated through high-quality learning to achieve ambitious goals and succeed in a future of their choosing.

Recent academic results demonstrate our students are achieving at high levels and growing faster than their peers. We’re celebrating data from the Measures of Academic Progress (MAP) assessment, which schools across the United States widely use to measure student progress in reading and math.

The 2026 assessment data shows students in every grade level that the test is given (Grades 1-8), are meeting or exceeding national growth benchmarks in both reading and math.

Adams 12 Five Star Schools is Where you Belong. Together, we continue to cultivate a community where every student feels valued, heard, and empowered to succeed. Thank you for your partnership and best wishes for a successful school year.